Company Postpones Professional Premiere of Lori Laitman's The Scarlet Letter Until 2015

Opera Colorado announced today that it intends to restructure its organization and present two-production seasons in both 2013 and 2014 in an effort to stabilize its shaky finances. As a consequence of the reorganization, the company said it will postpone the professional premiere of Lori Laitman's The Scarlet Letter — which it had intended to present this May — until 2015.

The company reports that it has also launched a fundraising initiative that it hopes will generate $1.2 million by March 30, 2013 in an effort to pay down its debt and ensure that it can present the two remaining productions in its current season, Romeo and Juliet and Don Giovanni. During the restructuring, the company plans to continue its young artist program as well as its educational and outreach efforts.

While Opera Colorado had previously managed to balance its annual budgets for the majority of its thirty-year history, the company incurred an operating deficit in 2012 as a result of lower-than-anticipated ticket sales and fundraising shortfalls. Its reorganization plan will reportedly entail reducing expenses — including operational overhead and staffing redundancies — as well as fundraising for future performances.

"Opera Colorado has experienced a series of unfortunate events that have left us in a financial situation where we need to take stock and make some changes so that we can continue to operate with artistic integrity and fiscal responsibility," said general director Greg Carpenter in a press release issued by the company today. "It’s unfortunate that we have to postpone the premiere of The Scarlet Letter, however, I am confident that our plan for the future will create a stronger business model, thereby enabling us to fulfill our commitment to this important American work and to our community."